Net sales in Itella Mail Communications - EUR 283.2 million - remained on par with the previous year's net sales (283.2), while the net sales of Itella Logistics grew to EUR 217.3 (188.9) million and the net sales of Itella Information declined to EUR 66.8 (67.8) million. When accounting for Itella Information's sale of the printing services business in Germany carried out in 2012, its net sales increased by 6 percent.

Operating result before non-recurring items decreased, amounting to EUR 2.4 (5.9) million, or 0.5 (1.2) percent, of net sales. The operating result before non-recurring items in Itella Mail Communications decreased to EUR 8.5 (10.7) million and to EUR -3.3 (-1.8) million in Itella Logistics, and improved to EUR 4.5 (2.5) million in Itella Information.

The second quarter operating result decreased impacted by non-recurring cost items totaling EUR 12.5 (9.0) million, and led to a loss of EUR -10.1 (-3.1) million, or -2.0 (-0.7) percent of net sales.

In April, Itella announced the start of an EUR 100 million performance improvement program for 2013-2014 and the start of cooperation negotiations concerning centralized and decentralized group functions. These negotiations were concluded by the end of May and resulted in the termination of the employment of 183 people.

Itella also announced its intention to renew its ICT operating model as part of the performance improvement program. As a result, the company signed an extensive partnership agreement with IBM, to which some of Itella's ICT operations were outsourced as of June 1, 2013.

The corporate transaction between Itella and Savings Banks concerning the share capital of Itella Bank was finalized on April 18, 2013.

January-June 2013

Itella Group's net sales grew by 3.4 percent, totaling EUR 991.1 (958.5) million in the first half of the year. Net sales in Itella Mail Communications declined to EUR 575.7 (579.4) million and to EUR 136.7 (142.2) million in Itella Information. The net sales of Itella Logistics increased to EUR 422.5 (370.6) million.

Operating result decreased, totaling EUR 14.8 (28.7) million, or 1.5 (3.0) percent, of net sales without non-recurring items. Operating result before non-recurring items in Itella Mail Communications decreased to EUR 29.9 (36.0) million and to EUR -13.7 (-3.5) million in Itella Logistics, and improved in Itella Information, to EUR 10.9 (5.8) million.

Operating result in the first half decreased from the year before and came to EUR 0.7 (18.0) million, representing 0.1 (1.9) percent of net sales. The first half's performance decreased due to non-recurring items in the amount of EUR 14.1 (10.7) million.

President and CEO Heikki Malinen:

"The overall market situation and consumer confidence declined clearly as summer approached. In Itella's business, the weaker market situation was particularly visible in road freight, the handling of goods and postal delivery volumes. The speed of growth slowed down, particularly with regard to the consumer segment. We were nonetheless successful in winning some significant new customer accounts during the review period. The weaker market situation was also evident as lower transaction volumes in the business of Itella Information. The services under the scope of the universal service obligation accounted for 6.1 percent of Itella Group's net sales during the second quarter.

Electronic substitution presents Itella with a great challenge this decade as letter and magazine volumes, in particular, continue to decline at an increasing speed. Itella is preparing for this change by adjusting its capacity to future demand. To enable future growth, Itella has established a new eCommerce unit, the objective of which is to allocate more resources and expertise in measures aiming to increase our market share in the logistics of online commerce. We are also continuing our investments in the development of parcel deliveries.

In April, we launched a EUR 100 million performance improvement program for 2013-2014. As part of this program, we sold Itella Bank, increased the efficiency of Group administration, began the outsourcing of ICT operations and started giving increased prominence to sourcing.

Improving the result of Itella Logistics, which has suffered from declining profits for quite some time now, is one of our key priorities. Enabling profitable growth in the future requires us to carry out significant changes in the entire logistics organization and delivery chain. Positive developments include the growth of business and improved profitability in Russia.

We anticipate Itella's net sales this year to show growth in comparison to last year. The operating result without non-recurring items is expected to remain at the level of 2012. The operating result for the entire year is expected to be impacted by substantial non-recurring expenses."

Itella Group provides solutions for managing information and product flows. Itella operates in the fields of mail communications, logistics, and financial management in Europe and Russia. Net sales in 2012 amounted to EUR 1,947 million. The number of staff is approximately 27,500. Corporate services are delivered under the Itella brand, while the Posti brand is used for services targeted at consumers in Finland. Further information is available online at www.itella.com.